World Champion
Four years after he stunned the chess world with his victory in Nanjing, soon afterwards becoming the world’s undisputed number-one player, Magnus Carlsen has become world champion.
NEW WORLD CHAMPION GM MAGNUS CARLSEN’S victory over defending champion Viswanathan Anand in Chennai could hardly have been more convincing; 61
⁄2 -31 ⁄2 , with Anand failing to win a single game. The Carlsen era—if it had not already begun after
Nanjing 2009—had arrived. The final game, with Anand surviving by the skin
of his teeth, marked Carlsen out as something special. Anand was not trying to delay the coronation of the new world champion and offered a repetition on move 21. Everyone expected that Carlsen would extend his hand and the match would be over. Everyone except Carlsen himself. Incredibly, the Norwegian decided that he could
press without risk—well, all he was risking was the world title and almost half a million dollars!—and he went close to winning. Eventually, as Carlsen explained, “After the time
control the variations were getting too complicated so I decided to shut it down and force a draw.” Still Anand had to earn his last half point, the draw finally signed, with almost no pieces left on the board, after five hours play and 65 moves. To risk first place at the 2013 Sinquefeld Cup by
declining a draw offer from Aronian is one thing; to take a similar stand with the world title on the line is quite another. The thought that the chess world might have a maximalist as world champion, a player like Bobby Fischer who genuinely wants to make the most out of every position, is an enticing one for every chess fan. The chess world also has its first Generation Y world
champion on the throne; a player who models for a clothing company, plays and follows multiple other sports and answers questions in press conferences with terms such as “Yada, yada, yada.”
By GM IAN ROGERS | Photos by CATHY ROGERS
INDIA'S ANGST Despite the three-point margin, it would be wrong to say that 44-year-
old Anand was outclassed. Playing in his home town of Chennai was a mixed blessing, with Anand able to leave the Hyatt Regency Chennai to visit his son whenever he wished, but also facing the weight of expectations from 1.3 billion people, including a massive Indian press corps. To further add to the Indian angst, Anand’s match coincided with the
final two games by another Indian icon, Sachin Tendulkar—probably the second greatest cricketer ever. Anand lost games five and six on the same weekend that Tendulkar retired, the weekend being described as the worst in Indian sports history. The four draws which began the match seemed like a positive sign
for Anand, who the betting markets predicted would be crushed by his younger challenger. However when the struggle was at its most intense, Carlsen kept his
nerves under control far better, Anand making three major blunders, in games six, eight and nine. “I would like to think I can take some respon- sibility for those blunders,” said Carlsen after the match. “I just play and people crack under the pressure, even in world championships.” Carlsen was correct—as the match progressed his strengths came to
the fore and decided the outcome. A lesser defender than Carlsen might have fallen behind under pressure
from Anand in games three and four. “Game four gave me a good feeling,” explained Carlsen. “I felt that I had seized the initiative and that he was just as nervous and vulnerable as I was.” (Curiously, Anand also viewed game four as very encouraging, but he was soon to be let down.) A lesser endgame player than Carlsen would certainly not have won
games five and six. “Game 5 was the low point for me,” said Anand. “I had a feeling that this match was going to be about execution. I had hoped to match him in long games but I was not able to execute my strategy.” During the climactic battle in game nine, when Anand threw caution
to the wind and all the pundits were predicting a winning attack for the Indian, Carlsen stayed cool, despite admitting being scared “all the time”. The soon-to-be world champion explained, “I couldn't find a forced mate [for him so] I just had to calculate as best I can and go with that.” His reward was Anand’s second big blunder, handing him the match on a platter.
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